Week Ten - November 21st

- The Tier-2 Trade deadline is this week but with many trades already having taken place earlier in the season there isn't much activity expected. 

- Two weeks ago Sabr was out of the playoffs but was not in a dire situation, fast-forward to today and strangely they still control their own fate but have little margin for error.  First up is this week against Ihsan where they need at least a point leading to their regular season finale against Emaan which will be a must win game.

- Sabr has baffled observers as the last two weeks have seen them collapse in the final minutes in both games.  Two weeks ago Emaan scored three goals in the final 1:40 turning a 3-1 lead into a 4-3 loss for Sabr.  This past week Sabr held a 1-0 lead but surrendered two goals in the final 57 seconds.  It is hard to imagine this championship veteran team not being able to hold a lead but all the injuries they have suffered have clearly taken their toll.

- We mentioned Ali Wadee and his return to I-Slam Basketball and this past weekend he and Omar Sabri lined up together and showed some great chemistry that Ihsan will hope will transfer to hockey as well.

- Unsurprisingly considering all the offensive talent in their line-up, Taqwa has three of the top five scorers in Tier-1 including Sami Choudhry and Shaukat Khan taking the top two spots.  Sajjid Ayubi has a game in hand over both and with all three players facing off in the regular season finale it will be interesting to see who will finish at the top when the season is done.

- Despite having two games left to play, Ihsan has already clinched first place in Tier-1, it has been season of redemption for the Ihsan GM group after missing the playoffs last season.  To their credit they drafted a well balanced team and the risks that they took with younger players like Omar Husain and Yusuf Ingar have worked out.  Ali Khwaja has also been a rock in net, leading the league in Wins, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage and Shut-outs – basically every category that matters. 

- Taqwa stamped their ticket to the playoffs with their comeback win over Sabr last week, after having lost in the finals last season with an epic collapse of their own, (blowing a 3-0 and later a 4-2 lead) it was sweet redemption to break the hearts of Sabr with two goals in the final 57 seconds to win 2-1.

- For the first time in a while all Tier-2 Teams will be in action this week, some good games are on the docket but the big head-to-head match-ups are later in the season.

- It was billed as a must win game for both teams but it was Ridha who took it as they downed Yaqeen 4-2 last week, Talib Contractor had two goals in his debut and gave Ridha the jump they have been missing most of the season.

- Yaqeen came out of that loss to Ridha hurting but with a chance to still make the playoffs but cannot afford to keep dropping games; that said they were missing a number of players last week that did not help their effort against Ridha in a big game

- Speaking of Ridha, many noticed the extra jump in the game of Farooq Sani last week.  While it was the league's worst kept secret that Sani was desperate to play with his friend Talib Contractor, many were unsure how the two would play together but the results were clear after one game - Contractor with two goals and Sani with a goal and an assist which were his first points of the season.  An observer commented that the trade would turn around the season for Sani and called Ridha's deal with Shukr simply as "How Sani Got His Groove Back"

- Ikhlas has been hot and cold this season, literally as they were hot for their first three games and now cold as they are winless in their last three.  They put up eleven goals in the first three games and five goals in their last three so their offense needs to step it up.

- Haya faces Shukr this week in a game where Shukr will want to show that their late collapse was not a pattern against the top teams in the league.  Haya will reportedly be playing without Arif Khan, Aazar Zafar, Zahid Merchant, Fuzail Thakur and Coach K.  All of them a big loss in any game.  The good news for Haya is that Waseem "The Dream" Bangash will still be there, he reportedly rearranged his travel plans to attend the game.  Cynics may say it is because he wants to win the Scoring Title along with Goal Title but under Coach K, Waseem seemingly has evolved into a leader who wants team to do well.

- Mujeeb Syed turned heads in Shukr's game against Ikhlas, Shukr brass insisted he had to be part of the Contractor deal and it is clear why.  He was Shukr's best forward last week using his speed and tenacity to create chances for his team.  Look for him to make his mark in this week's game against Haya, he'll also be looking to show up Haya's Rayhan Taqiuddin who flattened him when these teams met two weeks ago - Taqiuddin was defending Bangash from Syed's physical play in that game. 

- Ridha needs more production from their 2nd line, a player like Shoaib Bhatti needs to give them some scoring punch and considering he was the Most Improved Player a couple of seasons ago and is tied for the record of most goals in a game with four, he should be doing better than just a goal in five games this season.  

Week Nine - November 14th

- The Tier-1 Trade Deadline is this week and it seems as though it will be a quiet one with all the moves made much earlier in the season but with the Tier-2 Deadline being set for next week be ready for some wild moves with all the trade rumours floating around

- Ali Wadee of Ihsan seems to be trying to turn back the clock as he is playing I-Slam Basketball and will try to recapture his past role as a three point specialist.  The fact that he is playing (both I-Slam Hockey and Basketball) with Omar Sabri is a boost as Sabri is a dominant force in both sports.

- While the final standings may not end up like this, the current standings are a mirror opposite of the final standings from last season with Ihsan and Emaan facing each other in a battle for first whereas last season it was a battle for the last playoff spot

- This season has been a forgettable thus far for Sabr superstar Yousuf Sowdagar. In six games played he has yet to register a point; normally you would find him in the race for the scoring title and one wonders if his shoulder injury is worse than he is letting on

- On a positive note for Sabr, Captain Gehad Al-Hundi has been the lone bright star as the veteran star seems to get better as he ages and last game was no exception as he notched a spectacular shorthanded goal with a great solo effort

- Naeem Akhter is putting some serious heat on Waseem Bangash's claim for the scoring title.  His hat-trick now has him just two points behind Bangash.  Both players have this week off but Akhtar has a game in hand to make up for the shortfall.  That said this race will likely go the distance.

- Is there any debate on who will be the Rookie of the Year in Tier-2? That award will likely go to the "Bosnian Wonder" Mehmed Rizvanovic. In just his first season in a ball hockey league, the centreman has racked 11 points in 7 games, good for 3rd in scoring. Clearly Coach K knew something when he drafted him early and has molded him into a solid forward.

- Speaking of Coach K and his great work this season, observers have noted that while Waseem Bangash was always viewed as an offensive dynamo but he is now a solid two way player who is an even bigger threat in games.  Bangash also has his teammates looking out for him as last week Mujeeb Syed of Shukr was thought to have been taking liberties with Bangash but Rayhan Taqiuddin was quick to let Syed know that Haya's star was not a target as Taqiuddin laid the body on Syed.  While he may have been protecting his star, Taqiuddin took a penalty for his efforts and Shukr was quick to score on the power play.

- Zuhd GM Fahad Mallik appears to be having a difficult time managing social medial. Apparently Mr. Popularity can't manage the multiple WhatsApp groups he's associated with as it drains his battery. This explains why he bailed out of the Tier-2 GM chat group. We believe the battery drain is associated with his love for Candy Crush. Folks, show him some love and send him a Candy Crush invite. He'll be thrilled!

- Emaan has tormented Taqwa all season, taking five of a possible six points in their three games but last week they did Taqwa a huge favour with their last minute comeback win over Sabr.  Has Sabr held on they would now be tied with Taqwa in the standings with a game in hand instead of two points out of the last playoff spot.

- The Emaan comeback last week against Sabr was an amazing one to witness, Sabr up 3-1 with less than two minutes left when Emaan pulled their goalie and Hassan Bedreddine scored with 1:40 left to make it 3-2, Hisham Ali scored with 1:05 left to make it 3-3 and Ahmed Hathout scored with 19 seconds left to make it 4-3 for Emaan.  Sabr just came apart at the end and despite controlling most of the game could not get their defensive coverage together in the final minutes.  A large contributing factor was fatigue as playing with a short bench due to injuries and suspensions it seemed like they just ran out of gas.

- This week's game between Taqwa and Sabr will have a playoff atmosphere as a win by Taqwa would deal a near fatal blow to Sabr's hopes to make the playoffs.  Sabr has dealt with injuries all season but still can make the playoffs with a winning streak to end their season – but they have an uphill climb for sure

- The Bangash goal tally versus Yaqeen and Ridha is still going, he has eight goals while Ridha has eight and Yaqeen has seven.  Some tongue in cheek observers suggested that either of those teams should trade whatever Haya wants for Bangash.

- Ikhlas has struggled lately, missing players and injuries have hurt them but they need to turn things around if they want to secure a playoff spot as they are currently mired in a two game losing streak

- Speaking of locking up a playoff spot, the game between Yaqeen and Ridha this week should be played as though it is one.  Both teams only have a win out of their first five games so whoever wins this one will jump up in the standings, the loser isn't out but has surely made their road to the playoffs much harder.

Week Eight - November 7th

- Sabr's struggles have seen them fall from a tie for first into last in just two weeks and things won't get easier this week against Emaan who are starting to find their stride; Sabr also goes into this game missing various players due to suspension and injury so if their bench doesn't step up their playoff hopes could take a big blow.

- Taqwa will be glad that they don’t have to face Emaan again (regular season that is) as in three games between the teams Taqwa was only able to get a tie and the last game were routed.

- Lack of chemistry seems to be cited for the major reason why 1st rounders Talib Contractor and Nadeem Qureshi were exchanged in a monster trade. Talib, the 1st overall pick, had only 2 points after 5 games played for Shukr while Nadeem had only 1 point in 3 games for Ridha. Both teams are hoping the new players will fit right in and light up their offense.

- How things change. We reported before how we were looking forward to the next showdown between Nadeem Qureshi and Captain Mohammad Hamoud when they exchanged "pleasantries" in their last game. Now the two won't have to wait for the rematch as they can go at it in the locker room as teammates following the big trade. However, we anticipate these two teddy bears will just end up hugging and making up.

- The battle of Emaan was on last Friday when Yaqeen and Haya faced-off. Actually it was more like Maulana Belal Ahmed "The Grey" of Haya versus Imam Abdul-Aziz Rasoul "The White" of Yaqeen. The two wizards called up their most special du'aas so their teams would be victorious. It would be Belal "The Grey" that would be left standing as the victor by the end of the night.

- Speaking of forward Belal Ahmed, he was teased by his team prior to last week's game as he was the only one without any points. Belal responded to the pundits with a stellar game and two points.

- Generating goals seems to be a major problem for the teams in the bottom half of the standings. After 5 games played both Shukr and Yaqeen have scored only 8 goals while Ridha has scored merely 7 goals. It doesn't look good when you realize Waseem Bangash of Haya has scored 8 goals himself. On the other hand, Shukr is doing the job on defense and has a goal differential of just -3 whereas Yaqeen's porous defense has a whopping -14 goal differential

- It was no secret that Ridha wanted to draft Talib Contractor and it seemed as though when they missed out on him in the draft their draft strategy didn't gel so now that they have managed to acquire their coveted piece let's see how their team performs.  Farooq Sani is pointless so far and if he lines up on forward with Contractor then he may finally get his offensive game going because Ridha desperately needs it.

- Nadeem Akhter's bid for MVP continues strong as the "Zdeno Chara" of I-Slam notched another point. He stands now in 2nd place in points; however, the defenseman's presence and contribution on the floor are worth more to the team.

Ikhlas comes into their game in third place and have a tough game against Zuhd who they barely defeated to open the season, Zuhd has been steadily improving while Ikhlas seems to have been regressing

- A point of comedy (for opponents anyhow) is that Ikhlas has taken a Too Many Men penalty in every one of their games this season, what seemed comical at first has turned into a point of frustration with what can only be poor communication on the bench to keep having the same issue each game

- Shukr will get a chance to test out their new line-up in a big game against Haya, the pressure will be on Nadeem Qureshi to make an impact for his team but having played with Coach K and Rayhan Taqiuddin for many years they have a good insight on how to shut him down so if he isn't able to find a way to give Shukr's anemic offense a boost their grip on the final playoff spot could slip further.

- Haya continues their domination of Tier-2 and if it were not for a five-minute collapse at the end of their game with Zuhd they would be undefeated for the season.  Coach K has them demolishing opponents and they are getting good D and even better goaltending from Yusuf Kapoor who shut out Yaqeen in his last game.

Week Seven - October 31st

- Sabr entered Week Six in a tie for first and ended in third place and hurting with various injuries.  Sabr lost Hani Soliman to an ankle injury a couple of weeks ago and he was hopeful that he would return for the end of the season but it has now been confirmed that he will in fact miss the remainder of the season which is a big blow considering that he is tied for the team lead in goals and gave their forwards a strong physical presence around the net.  The injury woes got worse when during their game against Taqwa last week, Yousuf Sowdagar separated his shoulder and there is no word on his status coming into Week Seven.

- Speaking of injuries, Danial Umar replaced Camran Baig (who had to withdraw after a wrist injury) but in his first game Umar injured his hamstring, post-game he said he would be fine but something to watch

- In Taqwa's win over Sabr, the game was sealed by an empty net goal from Safi Ahmed who flipped a shot in from near his blue line, a skill his teammates commented that he has been working on for years and finally proved useful.

- Ihsan moved into first place after a solid 2-0 win over Emaan last week, they were led by some great chemistry from their 2^nd line as Yusuf Ingar, Ali Wadee and Omar Husain were a constant threat and the trio combined for two pretty goals with Ingar being the goal scorer on both.  

- Emaan needs to start playing desperate as they are currently in last and have only four games left in the season.  They face Taqwa this week whom they have already defeated in Week Three and fought back for a tie a couple of weeks ago with a last minute goal.  Furqan Salam had a strong Spring Season with 23 points in 10 games but only has an assist to show in six games this season.

- Emaan has had discipline issues as silly penalties have put them in the position of having to kill more penalties than any other team in Tier-1 so making sure they don't allow their aggressive style to get out of control is critical

- Another potential candidate for defenseman of the year is Fuzail Thakur. Although registered as a forward, Fuzail volunteered to fill the gaping blue line for Haya.  Halfway through the season he has clearly stood out as the top d-man on the team earning praise from Coach K for his ability to move the ball and stop the opposition from entering the zone

- Waseem Bangash continues to lead Tier-2 in scoring; despite the excellent man coverage by Ikhlas they weren't able to shut him out as he finally lit the lamp on an empty netter with just one second remaining.  Incidentally an Ikhlas player questioned whether Bangash would receive the same criticism as Wakaas Khan did the week before for attempting to score in the final seconds of a game

- Speaking of Waseem Bangash, we predict he will score 2 goals in his next game? Why do you say? Taking a look at his first five games his score line looks like this: 1,2,1,2,1,... just follow the trend

- With their crushing defeat of Ikhlas, Haya stands alone at the top of Tier-2, their offense has been overwhelming opposing teams and Coach K has them operating like a well-oiled machine which has resulted in Haya having four of the top six scorers in Tier-2

- After getting the monkey off their back with their first win last week, Yaqeen has the daunting challenge of trying to make it two in a row against Haya who mauled them 6-3 earlier this season. 

- Shukr is on a bye this week and needs to figure out how the wheels feel off as after opening the season with a big 5-0 win, they are winless in their past four games and are barely holding onto the final playoff spot

Week Six – October 24th

- Sabr and Ihsan come into this week in 1^st/2^nd and a game in hand over the other two teams in Tier-1, a big thing considering how tight the standings are right now

- Emaan faces Ihsan, a re-match of week one where Ihsan coasted to a 3-1 win and a win this week would put them in a great position down the stretch. 

- Sabr currently is tied for first but their offence needs to step it up as they only have eight goals so far and seemed to have lacked their usual offensive flow, the acquisition of Luqman Arshad earlier in the season seems to have helped their ball movement but time will tell if they can finish consistently

- Some injury news as Emaan has reportedly lost Haseeb Syed to a knee injury and Taqwa lost Camran Baig to a wrist injury.  While both players are expected to be replaced,  both were big pieces for their teams and will be missed.  Emaan is also missing Waqar Khan who may or may not be getting married overseas if you believe the rumour mill (the Facebook rumour mill - not this one)

- Despite some great players on defence, Taqwa managed to lose their lead late to Emaan last week in a game that ended in a 4-4 tie; lack of discipline was part of the issue as they gave Emaan late power plays but an overall weak team defence was obvious with forwards not working well with their defence to cover the defensive zone

- Waseem Kalair is putting up an early bid for defenseman of the year honours. The veteran has looked excellent in stopping the opposition on rushes and even more impressive in generating offence for his team

- After 4 games played Haya has a whopping shooting percentage of 40% (20 goals on 50 attempts). Their high octane offence is also 2/4 on power plays. Chances are the opposition will get bit if they visit the sin-bin

- Ikhlas forward Wakaas Khan earned the ire and disapproval of Yaqeen and spectators for scoring a meaningless goal in the final seconds when the game was considered over.   Safe to say his actions were noted and teams will be on alert in the final stages of the game when playing Ikhlas

- Ridha wins their first game using the “Rope-a-Dope” strategy. While Ridha was pounded with a relentless attack from Yaqeen, GM Farooq Sani commented on how is team “planned” on weathering the storm and then they’ll strike back at the right time when Yaqeen tires.   Apparently that’s just what happened.   Immediately after the team switched to the neutral zone trap and outlasted the clock for the win

- Heated words were exchanged when two bigs collided, specifically Nadeem Qureshi and Mohammed Hamoud.   After the exchange of pleasantries we can assure you the next Ridha-Shukr game will have some added spice to it

- Waseem Bangash has six goals this season, more than the entire roster of either Ridha or Yaqeen who both have only five goals.  He is on pace for another monster year offensively and seems to have flourished under the leadership of Coach K who has built his offence around this goal scoring powerhouse

- Zuhd exploded for seven goals in their last game, a great feat if they had not surrendered six goals so while their offence seems to be in great shape it is their team defence that needs some attention now

- Yaqeen endured a painful collapse against Ikhlas where they had a power play with 2:56 left in a tied game but were unable to score and ended up surrendering three goals in the final 35 seconds of the game – one being an empty netter.  It has been that type of season for Yaqeen where they outplay teams but bounces just do not go their way.  This week, they get a rematch against Shukr that trashed them 5-0 early in the season and this is their chance to start turn things around

- Haya's Coach K was upset with his team after their collapse to Zuhd last week, Haya had a 6-4 lead with five minutes left but managed to give up three goals down the stretch including the winner with just 10 seconds; watch for his team to come out strong against Ikhlas this week the teams are currently tied for first place and Haya feels that their big offence averaging five goals a game will overwhelm their opponents

Week Five – October 17th

- This week will be the first time all Tier-2 Teams will be in action so a great opportunity to scout the opposition if you haven't watched the competition yet

- Usama Mahmood made his long awaited debut for Ihsan and the mercurial forward put up a goal and three assists to match the output from teammate Omar Sabri, if Ihsan can get consistent attendance then they are sure to redeem themselves from last season where they missed the playoffs

- The feature game for Tier-2 this week will see undefeated Haya take on Zuhd in a potential preview of the finals, Haya has been steamrolling teams and has a whopping 14 goals in their first three games and have won games by an average of three goals.  Zuhd could just as easily be 3-0 as well as their first loss was due to an unfortunate bounce against Ikhlas and their last game was a scoreless draw against Shukr (whom they had pasted 6-1 the week before).  It will be interesting to see how Coach K deploys his team to shut down Naeem Akhtar who has been a force all season.

- The only Tier-1 game this week pits Emaan against Taqwa in a match-up where the winner gets a leg up on the final playoff spot.  As we approach the mid-point of the season this will be a key game and you never know when a tie-breaker will come in handy; Emaan won when these teams met on September 26^th as Hisham Ali scored late to steal his team a 2-1 win

- There was a trade completed in Tier-1 just in time for Week Five games, Ihsan will send Erfan Bhanapatel to Taqwa for Junaid Mohammad.  Both teams benefit in some way, Ihsan gets a veteran forward in Mohammad who can score while Taqwa adds speed and a big shot in Bhanapatel.

- Ikhlas comes into this week not having played in a month by virtue of bye weeks and the Eid break, it will be interesting to see how much rust they have as they won their first two games but did not really dominate either match-up.

- Yaqeen and Ridha both enter this week in search of their first win and if panic has not yet started to seep in it will soon as neither team can afford to keep dropping points if they want to make the playoffs. 

- Ridha's offense has been weak so far this season, putting up just three goals in three games.  That said they have also surrendered a whopping 11 goals in three games so they have work to do on both ends of the floor to turn things around.  They will have to face Shukr who has been hot and cold this season as they blew out Yaqeen to open the season before getting mauled themselves by Zuhd only to end their last game in a scoreless draw.

Week Four - October 10th

- When is it considered too early to panic?  Ridha must be asking themselves that question going into this week's game against Haya as a loss puts them in dead last and may result in some trades being made to shake things up.  Ridha lost in their season opener to Haya and will want to show that they can compete with the best
- To say that the Tier-1 standings are bizarre is an understatement, after three weeks each team has an identical 1-1-1 record so unless we see two ties this week expect someone to take hold and move away from the pack
- Ihsan is still awaiting the debut of mercurial forward Usama Mahmood who recently got married, no word on whether he is available this week but their offense is already loaded making him another great asset to break down opposing teams
- Shukr gets a rematch with Zuhd after taking a 6-1 beating last week, Shukr looked unstoppable in their opening 5-0 pasting of Yaqeen so last week's loss was a shock so everyone will be watching to see how they react given an immediate opportunity to redeem themselves
- Last time Emaan and Sabr met, it was Sabr scoring with just six minutes left to steal a tie but a game where they outshot their opponent by a 21-11 margin; finishing their chances early in the game will be critical against a scrappy Emaan squad who uses their speed and relentless fore-check to generate offense.
- Taqwa vs Ihsan features the leagues four top scorers and features a great head to head between Sajjid Ayubi and Shaukat Khan, the latter being the apprentice in this dynamic.  Both players possess speed and great offensive instincts so their game within a game will be fun to watch
- NHL teams are looking to advanced statistics like Corsi and Fenwick, Haya is reportedly using the "Taqi" metric but no details on what this represents.  Haya has looked strong and well balanced early this season and a great part of their success has been the coaching of Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin who has guided his team into first place
- Speaking of "Coach K", he is reportedly particularly pleased with his "Triple-A" line of Arif Khan, Ali Murtaza and Aazar Zafar who have combined for seven points in two games and have balanced his team's offense lines with top forward Waseem Bangash as the anchor on their other big line